Experienced my first Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas today! It was wonderful, reverent, lovely, bright, and full of love. I have never been so wrapped in the love and peace of God. The community was also very welcoming. Sarah and I greatly benefited from the experience.

Glad to hear it! I think I will always remember my first Divine Liturgy. I'm glad to hear yours was just as wonderful.

Logged

Aγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς

Let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God

Experienced my first Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas today! It was wonderful, reverent, lovely, bright, and full of love. I have never been so wrapped in the love and peace of God. The community was also very welcoming. Sarah and I greatly benefited from the experience.

Good to hear of your positive experience. May the Lord continue to guide you and your wife on your journey.

Experienced my first Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas today! It was wonderful, reverent, lovely, bright, and full of love. I have never been so wrapped in the love and peace of God. The community was also very welcoming. Sarah and I greatly benefited from the experience.

I went to my second Divine Liturgy yesterday, unlike the first time I was able to follow the services more closely.

It wasn't a negative experience, I felt fine after going there.

Though I was really tired afterward, I had to clean the house and walk the dog afterward.

If you could follow well at your second visit, you are doing better than I was.

I had a tendency to get lost a lot. But it still didn't take long at all for me to learn. And now I understand enough bits of the Greek even that I have some ideas what is going on even if I didn't have context or text. Having the same pattern every week makes it easy to learn.

Sorry you ended up tired. I guess I did at first too, but now I'm so endergized by it that I feel almost like I've missed something on a "short day". . I hope it will become like that for you too - if you are already following along that's probably a good sign.

Logged

Aγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς

Let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God

I went to my second Divine Liturgy yesterday, unlike the first time I was able to follow the services more closely.

It wasn't a negative experience, I felt fine after going there.

Though I was really tired afterward, I had to clean the house and walk the dog afterward.

If you could follow well at your second visit, you are doing better than I was.

I had a tendency to get lost a lot. But it still didn't take long at all for me to learn. And now I understand enough bits of the Greek even that I have some ideas what is going on even if I didn't have context or text. Having the same pattern every week makes it easy to learn.

Sorry you ended up tired. I guess I did at first too, but now I'm so endergized by it that I feel almost like I've missed something on a "short day". . I hope it will become like that for you too - if you are already following along that's probably a good sign.

The services were in English, Arabic and Greek so I was fine.

Logged

Not everything I type or have typed in the past is reflective of the teaching of the Orthodox Church, or may not reflect my contemporary views on a subject. (5/30/2015)

I am scaling back posting because the crack in my computer screen makes it harder and harder to type.

I went to my second Divine Liturgy yesterday, unlike the first time I was able to follow the services more closely.

It wasn't a negative experience, I felt fine after going there.

Though I was really tired afterward, I had to clean the house and walk the dog afterward.

If you could follow well at your second visit, you are doing better than I was.

I had a tendency to get lost a lot. But it still didn't take long at all for me to learn. And now I understand enough bits of the Greek even that I have some ideas what is going on even if I didn't have context or text. Having the same pattern every week makes it easy to learn.

Sorry you ended up tired. I guess I did at first too, but now I'm so endergized by it that I feel almost like I've missed something on a "short day". . I hope it will become like that for you too - if you are already following along that's probably a good sign.

The services were in English, Arabic and Greek so I was fine.

Ah, ok. I'm glad to hear that.

I know several languages (varying levels of fluency) and the Greek is still taking time. Arabic I would be totally lost in. But if it works for you, that's awesome!

Then again, I'd be ok with total Greek at this point (except the readings), though I'd still like a translation for Orthros.

Logged

Aγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς

Let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God

Hello everyone. I want to thank you all again for your love, patience, care and prayer. You have helped me and my wife on our journey.

I'm happy to inform you all that today my wife and I declared to our priest our desire and intention to become catechumens and unite with the Orthodox Church. He has accepted us with joy. The official prayer before the congregation will be in three weeks when he returns from his vacation. I just couldn't wait to inform you all as this is all a miraculous answer to prayer.

The Lord moves, thanks be to God.

Logged

“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” -John 7:51 (NKJV)

Hello everyone. I want to thank you all again for your love, patience, care and prayer. You have helped me and my wife on our journey.

I'm happy to inform you all that today my wife and I declared to our priest our desire and intention to become catechumens and unite with the Orthodox Church. He has accepted us with joy. The official prayer before the congregation will be in three weeks when he returns from his vacation. I just couldn't wait to inform you all as this is all a miraculous answer to prayer.

The Lord moves, thanks be to God.

Thanks be to God! It's wonderful that you have decided this as a family.

Many blessings on your journey. You have my prayers.

Logged

Aγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς

Let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God

Hello everyone. I want to thank you all again for your love, patience, care and prayer. You have helped me and my wife on our journey.

I'm happy to inform you all that today my wife and I declared to our priest our desire and intention to become catechumens and unite with the Orthodox Church. He has accepted us with joy. The official prayer before the congregation will be in three weeks when he returns from his vacation. I just couldn't wait to inform you all as this is all a miraculous answer to prayer.

my wife and i have completed our catechesis over the course of ~7 months. we've been attending regularly and getting involved in the choir and getting to know everyone in our parish family. it's been a wonderful experience.

my wife loves Orthodoxy. she and i both agree that we could never be anywhere else after coming to Orthodoxy. where else could we go?

coming to Orthodoxy is so good and yet so hard to explain how and why it's truly different. it's not like just going to a new church, or switching denominations. it is fundamentally, ontologically different. God is present here in a way that is unique to Orthodoxy. He is everywhere, of course, and was with us when we were protestants, but this is so much more. there are, of course, all the usual things: the Liturgy, the Fathers, the Tradition, the Beauty, the consistent theology that can be tracked, unbroken, through the ages. and all these things among others are amazing, and still, the real truth is that there is something More present here, and that More is what imbues Life into all these other things. and i think that More is Jesus, is God.

i am ecstatic and humbled, weak in the knees and tearful with awe. this is the Church. i've looked for so long, waited for so long, and we're finally coming Home.

my first Confession is tomorrow, in preparation for our reception by Chrismation on Pentecost.

this part of our journey, our inquiry, is ending, but it is only the beginning, the entryway into our eternal journey of theosis.

thank you all for your prayers. please continue to pray for us through Pentecost, and many blessings to you all!

Logged

“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” -John 7:51 (NKJV)

Today was the day! On this day we celebrated Pentecost and Sarah and I were Chrismated, being united to the Orthodox Christian Church. The image gallery is linked below, with pictures first in black and white and then in color. Pictures were graciously taken by Eliot Prisby, of Iris Leaf Photography. Please give credit if you do any reposting.

Thank you all for taking this journey with us and for all your support. While this marks the end of one leg of our journey, a whole new chapter has begun in our lives, and we can't wait to see what amazing things God has in store for us next!

Many blessings to you all, and much love in Christ!

-Paul & Sarah

Logged

“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” -John 7:51 (NKJV)

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus ChristPsalm 57:2 I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.

Congratulations, Nicodemus, to you and your wife on your chrismation!!

Photos were awesome! Thanks so much for sharing

Logged

"Blind of spiritual eyes, I come to You, O Christ, as did the man blind from his birth, and I cry to You in penitence: Have mercy on me O You who illumine with exceeding brightness those who are in darkness." (The Office of Holy Unction)